The present invention relates to a heating, cooking and disinfecting apparatus in which: cooking and disinfection are performed in one and the same large cooking vessel; the seasoning liquid remaining on the bottom of the cooking vessel is collected, heated and returned to the cooking vessel, thereby saving and making full use of the seasoning liquid; and the food material is evenly heated and cooked well.
A conventional cooking vessel has a double-shelled structure to define a heating space called xe2x80x9cJacketxe2x80x9d surrounding the cooking vessel body, and the cooking is effected by filling the xe2x80x9cJacketxe2x80x9d space with a heating medium such as steam, thereby allowing the heat to transfer from the xe2x80x9cJacketxe2x80x9d to the inside of the cooking vessel. The cooking vessel for use in business is so large in size that heat cannot be distributed evenly in the cooking vessel so far as the xe2x80x9cJacketxe2x80x9d is used as a heat source, and therefore it is necessary to agitate the food material in the cooking vessel while cooking.
The agitation, however, causes pieces of food to be deformed, and their appearance is pleasing less and less. Also, disadvantageously the seasoning liquid is degraded as pulverized food is mixed with seasoning liquid.
Still disadvantageously the agitation in the cooking vessel prevents the drift measurement of the food temperature because the food is flowing ceaselessly, and therefore, the temperature of the food is assumed indirectly from the temperature of the seasoning liquid in the cooking vessel. This is inconvenient in determining how the cooking has been developed in the cooking vessel.
In view of the above one object of the present invention is to provide a heating, cooking and disinfecting apparatus in which: the temperature in the cooking vessel can be raised: quickly to heat the inside of the cooking vessel evenly; the cooking and disinfection can be effected well with a relatively small quantity of seasoning liquid, and different types of cooking such as boiling, steaming or baking can be effected in one and same came cooking vessel.
To attain the object described abduce a heating, cooking and disinfecting apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as follows:
a hermetic type of pressurizing-and-depressurizing cooking vessel has a plurality of nozzles arranged inside, and these nozzles are jointed together to a supply conduit assembly, and the cooking vessel has a return conduit and a drain outlet provided on its bottom;
a heat exchanger whose inlet and outlet are connected to the return conduit and the supply conduit assembly respectively, thereby forming a circulation channel;
there is provided water supply, a seasoning liquid supply, a steam supply, a cold water supply, a superheated vapor supply and a heated nitrogen supply;
the water supply and the seasoning supply are arranged so as to be connected alternatively to the circulation channel via associated valves whereas the steam supply, cold water supply, superheated vapor supply and heated nitrogen supply are so arranged that any one of these supplies and the outlet of the heat exchanger may be connected alternatively to the circulation channel just downstream of the supply conduit assembly;
the cooking vessel has a temperature detecting sensor, a pressure detecting sensor and a nitrogen concentration detecting sensor installed therein; and
a control is responsive to signals from all of the detecting sensors for permitting the nozzles to shower the food material with the seasoning liquid, water, steam, superheated vapor, heated nitrogen or cold water according to the sequencer program, thereby cooking and disinfecting the food material in the cooking vessel.
The supply conduit assembly includes a center supply conduit standing upright at the center of the cooking vessel and a plurality of surrounding supply conduits arranged on the inner circumference of the cooking vessel, and the nozzles of the surrounding supply conduits are arranged in radial directions to surround the center supply conduit, so that the radial nozzles are distributed evenly within the cooking vessel.
An annular food-accommodating shelf assembly is put in the cooking vessel, and the center supply conduit stands in the center circular space of the shelf assembly and the surrounding supply conduits are arranged around the annular shelf assembly.
The shelf assembly has a plurality of shelves, and the nozzles are arranged at the levels of the shelves.
Each shelf has numerous holes made therein, thereby allowing the seasoning liquid to flow down from shelf to shelf.